February 4, 1996 -- When I Lost My Razor
It started somewhere around the first of the year, when I didn't shave for an entire weekend. I think it continued because of a lingering thought, "Gee, I wonder what I would look like if I let this grow." Within a few weeks, I knew...and Kim seemed to like it. So I kept it for only a short while, long enough to have it when Chloe was baptized in the Episcopal Church. So, as you see, this photo is forever ruined because I decided to look like Grizzly Adams for a while.
...
October 6, 1996 -- Why Couldn't I Just Hold it?
I trailed by four shots going into the last round of the Springboro City Golf Championship. And Kevin Campbell was playing well, showing no signs of letting me catch up. I played pretty well too on the second day, but all I managed to do was keep pace with Kevin. After 9 holes, I was still down 4. After a birdie on the 13th, I was STILL down 4. As we teed off on the par-5 18th (now the 9th), I had accepted my fate.
But then Kevin hit his tee ball near the out-of-bounds. He re-teed and hit his next tee shot WAY out-of-bounds, When his next drive hit the fairway, I started doing the math. He was lying five, and I was lying one. So we were tied. This made everything altogether interesting.
Out of respect, we looked for Kevin's first ball, and I know we went at least 10 or 15 minutes even though the rule says we should look for 5. But we didn't find it. He slumped his shoulders and returned to his ball in the middle of the fairway. Meanwhile, I had to take a leak, so I stayed in the general vicinity of his first tee ball and, um, relieved myself.
I looked down and could not believe it.
"Kevin," I said. "Come back. I almost peed on your ball."
I thought to myself I shouldn't have been so honest.
He took a drop, took two more shots to reach the green, leaving him a lengthy putt for par. Meanwhile, the best I could do was try for eagle, which lipped out. I made up two hits on him, but that still left him two more.
Second.
....
October 19, 1996
On the day Adam got his football uniform, he wore his helmet -- all the way home, in the car, and for a while at the dinner table. He was born to play on the offensive or defensive line, because he is big for his age and quick. He regarded himself as a beast.
But even a beast needs a little love from his momma.
This is one of my favorite photos ever.
This was the year Adam turned nine and Chloe turned one. We went on a June vacation to Myrtle Beach with the Stapletons, and an August trip to Norris Lake. We had a simple life, with a nice house on Oaknoll, two cars in the garage, and two kids asleep under our roof when the clock turned midnight. I was a small-town lawyer doing my best to help the people who came my way, while Kim continued to love and be loved by all of the clients who sat in her chair.
In a word: contentment.